Hawaiian temples reveal Polynesian past

The Hawaiian Islands have a rich cultural history, as evidenced by these prehistoric etchings in lava rocks. Now archaeologists have discovered more about the rise and fall of civilisations on the island of Maui (Image: iStockphoto)

An ancient temple system on the Hawaiian island of Maui is about 400 years older than previously thought, according to an extensive archaeological study.

The finding contradicts a prior theory that Maui's temples were built within a span of just a few decades around the year 1600.

Some researchers now think the temples were built over the course of 500 years, with construction cycles peaking during periods of significant political change.

"We see construction phases that parallel shifts in political control," says Associate Professor Michael Kolb, who led the study, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Current Anthropology.

"Chiefs likely wanted to mark their territory. Whenever a new leader came into power, he would probably seek to validate his new political and ideological ideas through modification or expansion of the temple system," adds Kolb, a professor of anthropology at Northern Illinois University.

Radiocarbon dating of charcoal from beneath the building foundations formed the basis of the new research. The charcoal remains were left behind after ancient builders cleared vegetation with controlled fires.

Usually archaeologists rely on dating of ceramics, but ceramics did not exist in early Hawaiian history.

"There is not a lot of soil formation on the islands, so the Polynesians who settled on Maui lacked clay and therefore pottery," Kolb says.

Dating charcoal

The charcoal dating determined that the Pihana temple, located in Halekii-Pihana State Park, is Maui's oldest temple. According to the new data, the existing ruins date to 1214.

One of the island's best-known temples is Pi'ilanihale Heiau, which means The House of Pi'ilani, who was a popular chief.

It is Maui's largest temple, covering more area than a football field and standing 12 metres in height. Pi'ilanihale was dated to 1294.

The scientists believe this initial 13th century building phase was followed by subsequent periods of construction in the 14th century and again, during a particularly active phase, near the turn of the 17th century.

Kolb explains that although Polynesians inhabited the Hawaiian Islands as early as the year 300, their settlements were initially small, spreading out over time.

Ancient Polynesians were once interested in ancestor worship and built small places of worship by paving off land and stacking rocks, according to archaeological evidence from early shrines in Hawaii and Tahiti.

Over time, Polynesian culture shifted toward sacrificial worship, which led to the enormous platform temples, some built on cliff faces or other prominent spots.

The most elaborate temples featured altars, oracle towers, offering pits, palisades, drum houses, and god or ancestral images carved from wood or stone.

"The shock value of these temples for religious ceremonies must have been tremendous," says Kolb.

"At some events there would have been human sacrifice, the killing of hundreds of pigs, the sounds of music and drumming, and the smell of burning fires.

"Members of the chiefly class were allowed into sacred areas of the temples, but they had to get in prostrate positions or lie down, sometimes for hours, as a sign of submission and respect for the chief."

Contact with westerners

The first westerners arrived with British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778. When Christianity was introduced to the islands in 1820, most of the temples were destroyed or abandoned. Maui has some of the best remains, with more than 120 remaining sites.

Timothy Earle, a professor of anthropology at Northwestern University, agrees with the conclusions of the new study, which he says "involved the broadest set of carbon dates. They appear to be good and valid."

Both Earle and Kolb believe the new findings suggest early Hawaiian monumental architecture was comparable to that of other famous ancient civilizations, such as the Maya or the early Egyptians, since all appeared to have linked temple construction to economic, political and ritual development.